In a turn of events, a white woman is suing her formal employer for being fired after hiring a black woman. A woman has sued a chocolates-and-milkshake shop, saying she was fired for hiring a black woman instead of a white, "all-American girl."
Officials with Edward Marc Chocolatier, which does business as The Milk Shake Factory on Pittsburgh's South Side, didn't address the specific claims made in the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by 43-year-old Denise Beloncis, but they said they believe the litigation will be "successfully resolved."
The Pittsburgh woman said she was fired in November 2012, about three months after she was hired as the store's general manager.
The plaintiff claims a supervisor specifically told her not to hire men and to hire "the all-American girl," which the lawsuit described as blonde, blue-eyed and college-educated - preferably at Duquesne University, a Catholic school in the city.
Beloncis' attorney, Sam Cordes, said she was fired when she instead hired a young black woman.
"As a nation we have determined that a person should not pay a price for opposing race or sex discrimination," Cordes said. "Here, the price Ms. Beloncis paid for doing the right thing was her job. The law does not allow an employer to charge that kind of price."
According to the company's website, the family-owned business was founded about 90 years ago by immigrants who have passed down recipes for handcrafted chocolates that the founders "carried with them from the family kitchen back in Greece."
The company in a statement released Tuesday night said the "claim is unfounded" and expressed confidence that the case "will be successfully vetted and resolved."
"It is our company policy to hire the best workforce available, regardless of age, race, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, culture and/or sexual orientation, and we will continue to carry out that policy."
In addition to The Milk Shake Factory, the company has an online shop, a chocolate factory in nearby Trafford and another retail store in Arlington, Va. The company also has a sales office in Washington, D.C., where officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cordes said he doesn't know the status of the woman Beloncis hired.
The lawsuit contends Beloncis was fired on Nov. 23, 2012, because "she hired the people she felt were a good fit based on their employment history, references and availability."
Cordes filed similar lawsuits on behalf of workers at a Panera Bread store in Mount Lebanon, an upscale Pittsburgh suburb.
In that case, the plaintiffs were a black worker and the white manager who was allegedly fired for refusing to keep the worker in the kitchen instead of letting the man work the cash register. The Ohio franchisee who ran that store denied wrongdoing but agreed to pay $76,000 to settle the litigation two years ago.
"Our discrimination laws mean nothing if an employer can fire an employee for objecting to race or sex discrimination and for refusing to make racial and gender-based employment decisions," Cordes said.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
Comments
White woman sues
I would call this article somewhat materialistic, but also wrong. When I think of an "all american woman" honestly, I don't think of a college educated woman, I think of "a stay at home mom." Not just the "milkshake factory" but any company shouldn't hire people based off of their race.
"All American Woman"
I honestly think the "stay at home mom" used to be the "all american woman" but it is starting to shift because women are starting to work more and some women are the main source of income in their families. But besides what people think the "all american woman" is, no company or any business that is shouldn't hire people based of their race or anything that may conflict with their views. This article goes along with many of the other articles on this site, it shows that there is still discrimination out there. But people need to start looking at people all the same, everyone is a human being. I learned today in my Human Growth and Develepment class that humans and some species of animals are 99% the same, that one percent that isn't the same is the outside of us (our features). It is sad that we are judging people for the 1% that is different.
Good for her. She should
Good for her. She should stand up for this. In my mind an "All-American woman" is not a color. I understand preferring a type or look of the employees, like most places do, but it should not be a preferred color. I know where I come from the "all-american woman" is how they are described in this article and I know if you vary from that it is harder to find a job. I really do not understand how this article is materialistic at all. and not all "stay at home moms" are uneducated.